C K Govil, President, Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) says, “FTAs reduce trade barriers and remove export regulations thus facilitating EXIM traffic. India’s exports to ASEAN Countries have increased from US$25.13 billion in 2016 to US$31.49 billion in 2021. Our exports to SAFTA nations have grown from $18.60 billion in 2016 to $22.08 billion in 2021, and to South Korea from $3.52 billion in 2016 to $4.68 billion in 2021. Our FTAs have brought in a cumulative investment of $89.54 billion in just five years. And that is just the beginning. We have seen a similar trend whenever an FTA has been signed, and the number of Indian trade partners is increasing.This will attract further foreign investments and participation in our country. Air cargo cannot be left behind amid all this action.” He adds,India has been promoting ease of doing business, and FTAs are a testimony to that effort. India has been promoting FTAs with bilateral and regional partners to boost export-oriented domestic manufacturing. Last year, India carried 2.2 million tonnes of air cargo, 70% of which was to international sectors. This is one-tenth the size of the American air cargo market and one-fifth of China’s. This figure can increase if air cargo is prioritised under the FTAs. India currently has 13 FTAs operational and 8 under negotiation. These are bound to uplift Indian trade on the global platform. In the past five years, India’s merchandise exports have grown by 20.75% to countries with which it has signed FTAs. It will go up if FTAs focus on air cargo. While the National Logistics Policy and Gati Shakti gave the much deserved recognition to air cargo, now it needs …

Ramesh Mamidala, Head – Cargo, Air India in an exclusive chat says, “The future export growth is going to come from tier II and tier III Indian cities. Great infrastructure development has been done at major airports across the country to facilitate seamless cargo movement. But, in the next four-five years, the industry collectively needs to focus on creating world class cold chain infrastructure in tier II and tier III cities. Therefore, the industry collectively needs to build the infrastructure that would also include the belly capacity deployment from the airlines in tier II, tier III cities, the airport infrastructure, the regulatory related infrastructure, etc.” He adds, “I feel the agriculture wastage that is happening is overestimated in India. For NE cities, what is produced in northeast can be consumed in India itself, it can be meant for the domestic market consumption, not only for the export market. But unfortunately, it’s not well-connected. So, connecting Northeast with air cargo or airline capacity may not be sufficient. Connectivity has to come in the form of railway network as well as surface network, which is a work in progress. In the next couple of years when it is well connected, we might see the northeast feeding their exotic fruits and vegetables to the rest of the country.”

Locus released a new research report, Decoding Asia’s Last-Mile Maturity, uncovering valuable insights about the current state of last-mile logistics in India, Indonesia, the UAE, and other Asian countries. It shows progress and gaps in the ecosystem, and the pivotal role of technology in driving business success. The report reveals that 79% of businesses across Asia are harnessing the technology to enhance their last-mile efficiency, but a staggering 84% lack confidence in their processes to drive growth and enhance customer experiences. These findings underscore that there’s widespread adoption of technology in the industry however, a majority of businesses are not able to leverage it to its full potential. “Solving deep-seated last-mile challenges requires a deep understanding of your business’s last-mile maturity. Therefore, to help businesses across sectors gauge their maturity and supercharge their last-mile growth, we recently launched the Last-Mile Maturity Assessment. Data from these responses has shown that today only 40% of businesses in Asia have scratched the surface of tech-driven last-mile prowess, showing that there is an untapped opportunity for businesses to achieve success. We want this report to reflect key trends and opportunities for businesses, so can they get inspired to optimize their logistics and achieve greater revenues and superior customer experiences”, says, Mehul Kapadia, Chief Revenue Officer, Locus. T

Shreeji Translogistics was felicitated with ‘Premium Bonded Trucking Operator’ award at recently held India Cargo Awards in New Delhi. Piyush Srivastava, IES, Senior Economic Advisor graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards 2023, hosted by Cargo Talk (DDP Group Publication) serves as an all-India platform created with a vision to recognise excellence in the Cargo-Freight-Logistics Industry across various domains, including Rail, Road, Air, Sea, Allied Services, Warehousing, Technology, 3rd Party Logistics, and more. Our world-class awards ceremonies are known for their formal Black-Tie affair, filled with glitz and glamour, attended by the most influential personalities in the industry.

The second session at CCUB 2023 ignited insightful conversations about the vital infrastructure required to optimize the efficiency of the cold chain industry. It was all on the table, from storage facilities to temperature-controlled zones and transportation infrastructure. Moderated by Balasubramanian P., The panel of expert speakers, including Mohammed Esa, Prasad Gengusetti A, Manoj Singh, John Ackerman, S. Burak Omeroglu, and Abdulla AlKhallafi, provided insights that balanced global standards with the unique challenges faced by the Indian cold chain industry.

Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI) held its 24th AGM in Mumbai. The Office Bearers for the term 2023-2024 include Xerrxes Master, President, Arun Kumar, Vice President, Devpal Menon, Hon. Secretary, Haresh Lalwani, Hon. Treasurer. The association also awarded Cargo Talk for its exemplary contribution in the logistics sector. The president touched upon the few important Achievements and milestones mentioned below: 1-Collaboration – bringing diverse stakeholders from multimodal agencies 2-Knowledge sharing 3-Advocacy – policies engaging with govt bodies to represent interest of multimodal agencies 4-Digital transformation – no longer an option but necessity to streamline operations 5-Sustainability – a global goal

The much-awaited Cold Chain Unbroken (CCUB) 2023 event organised by WIZ finally kicked off at the Taj Bengaluru. The inaugural Session delved deep into the government’s vision, highlighting the pivotal policies that bolster the Indian Cold Chain Industry and logistics sector. Dr. S. Selvakumar graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, and shared invaluable insights shaping the path forward. Kajal Singh, Principal Commissioner, ACC and Airport also focused on the evolving cold chain and logistics sector. Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Cargo Officer, BIAL, Satish Lakkaraju, Global Head Air Freight and Pharma at WIZ, and Ramkumar Govindarajan, Founder and CEO together with dignitaries performed the lamp lighting ceremony. “The theme of this event, Cold Chain Unbroken, encapsulates the fundamental goal we all share to establish an unbroken chain of temperature control, storage, transportation and the distribution of goods. Achieving this objective requires a collaborative effort from government agencies, private entrepreneurs, research institutions and stakeholders involved. It also necessitates embracing cutting edge technologies and the best practices to address the challenges that lies ahead. Karnataka has a considerable number of approximately 233 cold storage facilities, collectively offering a substantial overall capacity. The remaining cold storage facilities are owned and operated by private players in the state. This distribution of ownership highlights the collaboration between government agencies and private entrepreneurs in providing essential cold storage infrastructure to further assist in the process of releasing and logistics policy of Karnataka that will provide fiscal incentive for setting up cold chain facilities in Karnataka,” said the chief guest.

Combined Logistics Solutions wins ‘Best Global Logistics Company’ award at the recently concluded India Cargo Awards in New Delhi. Piyush Srivastava, IES, Senior Economic Advisor graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards 2023 hosted by Cargo Talk (DDP Group Publication) serves as an all-India platform created with a vision to recognise excellence in the Cargo-Freight-Logistics Industry across various domains, including Rail, Road, Air, Sea, Allied Services, Warehousing, Technology, 3rd Party Logistics, and more. Our world-class awards ceremonies are known for their formal Black-Tie affair, filled with glitz and glamour, attended by the most influential personalities in the industry.

Get ready to participate in India’s highly anticipated and power-packed show on cold chain storage and transportation. Being organized by WIZ, Cold Chain Unbroken (CCUB) 2023 opens today at Taj Bengaluru. The key points of discussion will include cold chain storage, handling and transportation, adequate infrastructure and skilled manpower for ground handling and transportation of products such as pharma and perishables, tech integration, government policies to facilitate EoDB and a lot more. Several industry stalwarts and stakeholders, including airports, airlines, freight forwarders, shipping lines, trucking companies, custodians are expected to take part in the show. The two-day event will provide a platform to meet and exchange ideas and collaborate.

D P World has launched its state-of-the-art 3,80,000 sq. ft. warehouse in Bhiwandi, in Maharashtra’s Thane district. The facility is fully compliant for the storage and handling of chemicals along with non-chemicals and has commenced operations effective September 1, 2023. This new facility elevates DP World’s warehousing capability to 5+ million sq. ft. of warehousing space PAN India. A partition divides the entire warehouse into two sections. One spans 1,90,000 sq. ft. and is specially designed for hazardous chemical storage, complete with heavy-duty G+8 level racking and state-of-the-art very early smoke detection apparatus (VESDA). This adaptable section offers an impressive capacity of 20,000 pallet positions for the normal temperature zone, along with an additional 1,000 pallet positions for the 20 to 25-degree temperature-controlled area, which can be further expanded when needed. The second section covers 1,50,000 sq. ft. and is dedicated to non-chemical storage. Additionally, the warehouse includes a 40,000 sq. ft. separate area featuring two distinct cold storage rooms. The new facility provides comprehensive safety features throughout the premises. This also includes a Chill temperature-controlled area, maintained at 20° to 25°C, for Pharma, Food Reagents, etc. Additionally, there are fireproof partitions, a dedicated firewater system, a spill containment pit, and Rockwool insulation on the roof. To enhance air quality and promote employee well-being, the facility utilizes High-Volume Low-Speed Fans (HVLS) for efficient air circulation. Furthermore, as a sustainability initiative, the facility is equipped with a solar system. The facility’s two-sided Docking system reduces the picking path whereas a Safety Lifeline system ensures driver safety while removing tarpaulin from trucks. The facility also features an extended canopy area of over 5 meters, ensuring smooth loading and unloading of vehicles across …